Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.
What critics thought
Burton's adaptation lands as a visually inventive, genuinely dark take on Roald Dahl's source material, with Freddie Highmore's quietly affecting Charlie broadly praised — but Depp's Wonka proved the fault line, splitting critics who found him an inspired paradox from those who saw only strained, hollow eccentricity. The film's reception has cooled notably with audiences over time, even as critics were largely positive on release.
“in spite of relapses and imperfections, a few of them serious, Mr. Burton's movie succeeds in doing what far too few films aimed primarily at children even know how to attempt anymore, which is to feed—even to glut—the youthful appetite for aesthetic surprise”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“The cumulative effect isn't pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting. Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“he maintains the paradox, the mystery, of Willy Wonka: a misanthrope who has little patience for children, who can't even utter the word 'parents' without gagging, yet who invents for those same kids the purest and most luscious candies out of the sugar dream of his imagination”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“If all the laughs come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva, the film's heart comes from Highmore, a gifted young performer whose performance is sincere, deep and unforced in a way that's rare in a child actor.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“Depp goes deeper to find the bruises on Wonka's secret heart than what Gene Wilder did. Depp and Burton may fly too high on the vapors of pure imagination, but it's hard to not get hooked on something this tasty.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- mild
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Adventure, Comedy, Family
Cast & Crew
Tim BurtonDirector
Johnny DeppWilly Wonka
Freddie HighmoreCharlie Bucket
David KellyGrandpa Joe
Helena Bonham CarterMrs. Bucket
Noah TaylorMr. Bucket
Missi PyleMrs. Beauregarde
James FoxMr. Salt
Deep RoyOompa Loompa
Christopher LeeDr. Wonka
Adam GodleyMr. Teavee
Franziska TroegnerMrs. Gloop
AnnaSophia RobbViolet Beauregarde
Danny ElfmanComposer
John AugustWriter
Roald DahlWriter
Philippe RousselotCinematographyFrom the studio
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.
What critics thought
Burton's adaptation lands as a visually inventive, genuinely dark take on Roald Dahl's source material, with Freddie Highmore's quietly affecting Charlie broadly praised — but Depp's Wonka proved the fault line, splitting critics who found him an inspired paradox from those who saw only strained, hollow eccentricity. The film's reception has cooled notably with audiences over time, even as critics were largely positive on release.
“in spite of relapses and imperfections, a few of them serious, Mr. Burton's movie succeeds in doing what far too few films aimed primarily at children even know how to attempt anymore, which is to feed—even to glut—the youthful appetite for aesthetic surprise”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“The cumulative effect isn't pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting. Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“he maintains the paradox, the mystery, of Willy Wonka: a misanthrope who has little patience for children, who can't even utter the word 'parents' without gagging, yet who invents for those same kids the purest and most luscious candies out of the sugar dream of his imagination”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“If all the laughs come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva, the film's heart comes from Highmore, a gifted young performer whose performance is sincere, deep and unforced in a way that's rare in a child actor.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“Depp goes deeper to find the bruises on Wonka's secret heart than what Gene Wilder did. Depp and Burton may fly too high on the vapors of pure imagination, but it's hard to not get hooked on something this tasty.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- mild
- Sex
- none
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Adventure, Comedy, Family
Cast & Crew
Tim BurtonDirectorJohnny DeppWilly WonkaFreddie HighmoreCharlie BucketDavid KellyGrandpa JoeHelena Bonham CarterMrs. BucketNoah TaylorMr. BucketMissi PyleMrs. BeauregardeJames FoxMr. SaltDeep RoyOompa LoompaChristopher LeeDr. WonkaAdam GodleyMr. TeaveeFranziska TroegnerMrs. GloopAnnaSophia RobbViolet BeauregardeDanny ElfmanComposerJohn AugustWriterRoald DahlWriterPhilippe RousselotCinematographyFrom the studio
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Rent & Buy